System engineering use several tools but the most important are architectures.
During the first step of the design we create several architectures of each systems and subsystems. We work on this thanks to a software which allows us to link all aspects of the design (needs, requirements, functions, components...).
The two main architectures are the following:
- Functional architecture
The goal of this architecture is to link all functions of a system and specialy their input and output. So we can justify why each function is needed. We also see the logic behind our system.
- Organic architecture
The goal of this architecture is to provide a global image of the system components. We can see all links between parts of the system and what their flows are. Thanks to this architecture it will be easier to choose the good component and to implement them together.
We make these kinds of architectures for all system and subsystem but also for the context of our system. It allows us to place our system of interest in its context and see with what it interacts.
So we obtain a complete draw of the system where everything is linked together following the rules below.
These architectures will create new needs and new requirements that are required by the system or forgotten by the customer.
A good architecture is obtained after several iterations to check if anything is forgotten and if everything is coherent and relevant. Then in order to be sure that everything is correct a "verification and validation" step is made by an other team. We will see this aspect of SE in a next article.
Thanks to these architectures we have a precise first design of the system and we can prove that all requirements of the customer are taken into account.
